The Aftermath
by DanteAlighieri
Summary: In the remains of a war-torn world, can four individuals find peace? IK, MS
1. Remains of a city, remains of a life

In the remains of a war-torn world, can four individuals find peace?  
  
A/N:Some of you guys may remember my old fic, The Streets, but I've removed it. It seemed too cliché to m, and I really wasn't happy with a lot of it. This one is pretty different, in my opinion. I've never seen it done quite like this, as far as I know.  
  
I'm hoping FF.net doesn't kill my formatting on this, so if it's all garbled together, sorry.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the songs contained within. Songs are listed w/ copyrights and the like at the end of the fic.  
  
_____The Aftermath_____  
  
[music]  
  
Silently to silence fall  
  
In the fields of futile war  
  
Toys of death are spitting lead  
  
Where boys that were our soldiers bled  
  
War horse and war machine  
  
[/music]  
  
Inuyasha stood at the doorsteps of his old apartment. It was raining, but he didn't much care. It had soaked through his fatigues, the standard camo green jumpsuit. His helmet was slowly spinning beside him, water building up and then spilling out in a continual process.  
  
[music]  
  
Curse the name of liberty  
  
Marching on as if they should  
  
Mix in the dirt our brothers' blood  
  
[/music]  
  
He had returned from the fighting, expecting his home to be largely unchanged. Instead, he found himself standing in the remains of what could only be part of hell he had yet to visit. He had heard that fighting had been bad in his homeland, but he had never expected this. This was what he and his comrades had done to the enemy, not the enemy to them.  
  
[music]  
  
In the mud and rain  
  
What are we fighting for  
  
Is it worth the pain  
  
It is worth dying for  
  
Who will take the blame  
  
Why did they make a war  
  
Questions that come again  
  
Should we be fighting at all  
  
[/music]  
  
Inuyasha stood staring for many hours, and then finally sat on the steps. He contemplated going inside and searching through the rubble for his belongings, but he doubted there would be anything salvageable in the wreckage.  
  
[music]  
  
Once a ploughman hitched his team  
  
Here he sowed his little cream  
  
Now bodies arms and legs are strewn  
  
Where mustard gas and barbwire bloom  
  
Each moment's like a year  
  
I've nothing left inside for tears  
  
Comrades dead or dying lie  
  
I'm left alone asking why  
  
[/music]  
  
'What the hell happened? The whole fucking city is burning, and there's no one doing anything about it. The war ended weeks ago, and the city is STILL BURNING. Did we really lose so much as to let this sort of thing happen?'  
  
[music]  
  
In the mud and rain  
  
What are we fighting for  
  
Is it worth the pain  
  
It is worth dying for  
  
Who will take the blame  
  
Why did they make a war  
  
Questions that come again  
  
Should we be fighting at all  
  
[/music]  
  
His ears caught a faint tune coming from inside the wreckage of the apartment, so he decided to investigate. 'Might be a CD player or something. Might as well take it, don't have anything else of my own... Just my gun'  
  
[music]  
  
After the war  
  
Left feeling no one has won  
  
After the war  
  
What does a soldier become  
  
[/music]  
  
As his luck had it, it was a CD player, and a nice one at that. "Score ... Now let's see what's playing..."  
  
He opened it up, and found that it was some old punk band. "Feh, no fucking taste. Punk.... Bunch of shit, I need some metal..."  
  
He continued muttering to himself as he went to his old room, in hopes of finding something good to listen to. He found most of his apartment to be unable to be salvaged, such as his TV and desktop computer, but his laptop seemed to be intact, besides the large amount of water that had gathered on it.  
  
After drying it off, he put it on the remains of a table under which the ceiling was still intact, and turned it on. While it booted up, he continued his search throughout his home, and came up with several things worthy of carrying, in his mind, at any rate. Several sets of clothes, some accessories to the laptop such as the power cord and network cable, several hundred dollars worth of cash, and, most importantly in his opinion, his three CD wallets, containing 100 CDs each.  
  
'Score! Real music! The money is nice, so are the clothes and laptop... but I survive on my music!'  
He tested out the laptop, put in an Iron Maiden album in the CD player, shoved everything he wasn't using in his large army-issued backpack, hoping it was more water proof than his previous ones.  
  
He replaced the large headphones with earpieces, stuck them in the triangular ears adorning the top of his head, and dialed the volume up.  
  
As he began to walk through the whole in the wall that had been serving as an entrance, he noticed his ATM card, lying by a surprisingly intact table at the original door. 'I doubt the bank has any money, the economy really collapsed... But it's worth a try to get some money.'  
  
Most people would assume that the ATM's would have been stolen and broken into, but having been in a life of crime before being sentenced to the army, Inuyasha knew otherwise. Not much could break into them, and moving them was a waste of time.  
  
As he stepped outside of the apartments, he picked up his helmet, drained the water out, and placed it on his head. 'Things are looking up, I suppose. I've got some money, a computer, and most importantly of all, music.'  
  
At the first location he remembered an ATM to be, he was greeted with the site of a bombed out building, and decided to go elsewhere. 'Few things open up ATM's, but I don't doubt a fucking bomb would do it... Money probably burned up too. No chance of any being left, though. Looters would certainly have gotten anything that the fire spared.'  
  
Now that he thought of it, he was surprised that everything in the apartments hadn't been stolen. 'A bit of a miracle, really...'  
  
He spent several hours in search of an ATM machine that was still working or in place, and finally found one... Only to be disappointed in the fact that the banks were without any money at all. They apparently had sent people to empty the ATM's and replenish their vaults long ago. 'Guess money is more important than people's lives... Greedy assholes'  
  
During his search, it had been rare to see any people... beyond that of gangs. They seemed to be everywhere, running around, doing whatever they pleased. That explained the lack of any sort of officials on the streets. The politicians and their workers would be looked upon unkindly, and as it seemed, unkindly would be the death of you.  
  
Inuyasha decided to set off towards the heart of the city, and see what remained of it. As he grew closer, there were more civilians, as he had started to refer to the city dwellers who seemed to not be part of a gang. In his mind, the city was a war zone, one with many more sides than two.  
  
He also noticed that more and more gang members were sighted as well, but they all wore similar colors, and seemed to be guarding the people. 'I suppose not everyone is bad, but I can't tell at this point... Protection usually comes at a cost, and there's no telling if the cost being paid here is worth it...'  
  
Other soldiers had been cycled back to their homes before he had been, and others had been stationed there during the defensive fighting. Inuyasha assumed that they were responsible for the forming of the gangs.  
  
'This whole thing doesn't seem right to me... This should be a city, not a battlefield. The army is still full of plenty career soldiers, not just draftees like myself... Why are they just ignoring this problem?'  
  
Inuyasha felt like voicing his thoughts to someone, but didn't know of anyone whom he could trust. As he came nearer to the center of the city, the gang presence decreased, though the civilian population increased. 'I suppose they feel that they only need to defend the perimeter...'  
  
He yawned, and resolved to find a place to sleep. There were still plenty of abandoned buildings around, so he traveled through some back alleys. As it grew darker, he turned off the music and removed the earpieces to rely on his hearing.  
  
[music]  
  
Loaded, stormin' out of control  
  
Fired up, hell ridin' we roll  
  
Drinkin' from the well of the damned  
  
Seize the roads, assault the land  
  
[/music]  
  
As he traveled, hoping to get as far away from the presence of humans and youkai as possible, he heard a shrill scream and yells for help. He instantly ran off in the direction they were coming from, turning down the alleys and streets until he arrived.  
  
[music]  
  
Respect through fear  
  
Walkin' tall  
  
Beyond unreal  
  
[/music]  
  
There were several men and spider youkai standing around a young lady, roughly Inuyasha's age. The men were mostly younger than he was, and wearing the colors of one of the more violent gangs he had seen outside of the supposed protected zone. He rushed in, extending the claws on his left hand, and pulling out his pistol with his right.  
  
[music]  
  
Always up for the ride  
  
Junkies of the genocide  
  
Risin' always above  
  
Hell ridin' never enough  
  
The rush of the chrome, to reign supreme  
  
Pistons of torture, crucifixion of speed  
  
[/music]  
  
He fired a warning shot, and the men turned to look at him. Instead of standing down, they began to pull out their own weapons.  
  
[music]  
  
Respect through fear  
  
Walkin' tall  
  
Beyond unreal  
  
Always up for the ride  
  
Junkies of the genocide  
  
Always up for the ride  
  
Junkies of the genocide  
  
[/music]  
  
Inuyasha jumped over the head of the first man, and backhanded him into the wall, and punched the next in the face. The man crumpled instantly, and the others ran off. He turned to face the spider youkai, who were completely ignoring him, and stabbing at the girl with their spindly limbs.  
  
[music]  
  
Intimidation, degradation, loomin' large, desecration  
  
Bury the old game, worship the insane  
  
Tomorrow will soon be here  
  
Immune to fear, tomorrow is never here  
  
Hell ridin' the gears of life  
  
Intimidation, degradation, loomin' large, desecration  
  
[/music]  
  
She was avoiding the majority of them, but several slashes across her face and arms proved that she couldn't dodge them forever. Inuyasha shot one in the back of the head, and fired several rounds into the abdomen of the other.  
  
[music]  
  
Always up for the ride  
  
Junkies of the genocide  
  
Always up for the ride  
  
Junkies of the genocide  
  
[/music]  
  
He hurried to the girl's side, and looked over her wounds. None seemed to be life threatening, but she was losing large amounts of blood.  
  
"Thank you... you saved me..."  
  
Inuyasha grunted in acknowledgment. "Where do you live? Get on my back and I'll carry you there... You're too weak to walk."  
  
The girl looked at him in indecision for several seconds, before decided to go with her strange rescuer. 'If he saved me, I doubt he's going to harm me... And he does appear to be a soldier... I guess I trust him for now....'  
  
"Uh.... okay ...."  
  
She hesitantly climbed on his back, and began to give him instructions. As he began to turn around, he felt a sharp stab of pain, and looked at the leg that seemed to be growing out of his chest.  
  
"Fuck..."  
  
Inuyasha grunted in pain, pulled out his pistol, fired several more rounds into the spider demon that had stabbed him, and jumped up onto the nearest intact rooftop. He followed the girl's directions, but ignored all of her questions concerning his health.  
  
He arrived at the location, a nice looking apartment near the middle of the city, and stumbled through the door, and began to trudge up the stairs. "Which floor do you live on, and what room?"  
  
"Eighth floor, third door on the right"  
  
He grunted several times as he walked up the stairs, and each time drops of blood fell from his chest, but he continued without saying a word. He leaned against the door as the girl inserted her key and slid off his back. The door opened, and he walked several steps. He stopped, and the girl nearly bumped into him.  
  
"By the way... What's your name?"  
  
"Kagome. And yours?"  
  
"Inuyasha."  
  
And with this, he fell to the ground.  
  
~Time Break~  
  
When Inuyasha woke up, the next day, he found himself lying on a leather couch, wrapped in warm blankets. His helmet and backpack were lying on the ground beside him, and his fatigues were sitting on a table beside what appeared to be a washing machine.  
  
'Wait.... What the hell? Why are my clothes over there instead of on me? What the fuck happened? All I remember was saving that Kagome girl, then getting her to her home, and then I blacked out... Shit, she must be taking care of me or something!"  
  
He lifted up the blankets and saw that his chest had been bandaged, and in the center of it some pinkish red had gone through. To his relief, he still had his boxers on, though was still embarrassed due to his lack of clothing.  
He saw a piece of paper lying on the table beside the couch, and sat up to read it.  
  
'Inuyasha,  
I've gone out to get some groceries and talk with some people. If you wake up before I get back, help yourself to the food in the fridge. I should be home within an hour or two of leaving, so if you need anything else, it shouldn't take too long.  
Also, I hope you don't mind me bandaging your wound. Your clothes are over by the washer and dryer.  
Kagome'  
  
"Feh... didn't need to banded up my chest... I'm a hanyou, wounds will heal just find if left alone..."  
  
Inuyasha reluctantly got out of the warmth of the blankets, and went to retrieve his clothes. He preferred his military jumpsuit to his regular clothes, it was more comfortable and flexible.  
  
He nodded in satisfaction as he saw that any bloodstains that he had left on it had been washed off, and pulled it on.  
  
He pulled his laptop out of his bag, and plugged in the power supply to the wall, and then hooked it up to the laptop. He was pleasantly surprised to find a small hub in the corner, and stretched out his ethernet cable and hooked his computer up to the Internet.  
  
While his computer started up, he went into the kitchen and opened up the refrigerator. 'This apartment really is nice... much better than my place... wonder if there are any open rooms... probably not, but I'll ask the owner or the person in charge, I suppose.'  
  
When he returned to sit on the couch and use his laptop, he carried with him a very large sandwich, scrambled eggs, bacon, and a cup of coffee.  
  
By the time Kagome had returned, he had eaten the sandwich, eggs, bacon, and had begun on some random snacks he had found in the pantry.  
  
When she surveyed the mess of plates and bags on the table and food on Inuyasha's face, her right eyebrow began to twitch. 'He certainly eats like a dog...'  
  
Inuyasha was typing and munching away on a handful of chips happily for a minute or so before he realized that Kagome was watching him, after which he scrambled for the nearby box of tissue and used one to wipe off his face.  
  
"Uhh ... sorry?"  
  
She gave him a thin smile while her twitching eyebrow began to stop, and asked him politely if he would help her bring in the bags of food.  
  
"Sure."  
After replenishing the fridge and pantry after hiss vicious assault on their stores, Inuyasha sat back down and went back to work on his laptop. Kagome sat down beside him, and began to speak.  
  
"I never got a chance to really thank you for saving me... so thanks, I would probably be dead or raped in that back alley if you hadn't come along and helped me..."  
  
It took Inuyasha a moment to register that he was being thanked, and mumbled for a few seconds before coming up with an intelligible reply.  
  
"It was nothing, I am a soldier and all... It's my job to protect and server, and all of that stuff... I was just in the right place at the right time... though I am mad that the bastard stabbed me..."  
  
Kagome sat thoughtfully for a few seconds, and then asked him a question she had asked many times the day before: "Are you alright.... I mean.... he did stab you through the stomach and all..."  
  
"Feh, some fucking spider ain't going to kill me. I'm a hanyou, he didn't do any serious damage."  
  
They sat in silence for several moments, before Inuyasha seemed to realize that she lived alone.  
  
"You live alone?"  
  
"Not until recently..." a pained look crossed her face before she continued, "I was living with my mother and brother, but they left to go to America, saying it was safer there. I stayed to finish college... but it it was blown up just before my final exams to get my bachelor's degree."  
  
"Oh... but that sounds like it happened a while ago, not recently..."  
  
Another pained look, this time with a small smile to it. "You're too smart for your own good... I lived with my grandfather at our old shrine, but while I was away, a bomb missed it's target and hit the shrine.."  
  
With this, several tears streaked down her face, to Inuyasha's extreme discomfort. He awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Hey... I didn't mean to make you cry.... "  
  
She sniffled several times, and then laughed.  
  
"You're not used to comforting people, are you?"  
  
Inuyasha frowned, let out a "Feh!", and went back to working on his laptop.  
  
"So, Inuyasha, do you have a place to stay?"  
  
"...."  
  
"Inuyasha, c'mon. Tell me."  
  
"... no...."  
  
"If you promise not to peep on me or hurt me or something, you can stay in one of the extra bedrooms. This apartment is really big, I don't use much of the room at all"  
  
"...."  
  
"Please?"  
  
".... no."  
  
"C'mon Inuyasha, you have nowhere to stay, and it's impossible to find decent shelter, and I get lonely in here by myself!"  
  
"....Feh."  
  
"Is that a yes?"  
  
"...."  
  
"Inuyasha..."  
  
"Fine!"  
  
His ears twitched in irritation, and Kagome watched them with silent glee. After several moments, she began to giggle. Inuyasha sent her a questioning look, and she shrugged. Her reserve quickly ran out, and she began to laugh. Inuyasha looked at her like she was crazy, and decided to get her to talk about something before she went insane.  
  
"What happened to the city while I was gone?"  
  
"Well... it was normal, until it was bombed out. Anarchy broke loose really quickly, and gangs started to form. The officials realized that they would be killed if they tried to impose any authority, so they're all in hiding. Most of the gangs spend all of their time fighting each other, though several, like Kouga's Wolf pack, the gang who rules over the area we're in, spend most of their time defending the people."  
  
"Obviously not well enough...."  
  
"Well, it is much better here than it is on the outside of the inner city. The problem is, the gangs are made up of street kids and low ranking soldiers. No one with any real experience or wisdom in the matter is running things, except for Naraku's gang... but they spend all of their time killing and plundering... they were the ones who attacked me yesterday...."  
  
At this point, the door slammed open, and a girl with her hair tied in a high ponytail came in, yelling something about 'perverted boys who needed to keep their hands to themselves' and followed closely by so called 'perverted boy'.  
  
Inuyasha blinked once, twice, three times and then...  
  
"Miroku, you ugly bastard, what the hell are you doing here?"  
  
Miroku stopped mid-sentence, just now realizing who all was occupying the room.  
  
"Great, he didn't die in the war. Just my luck."  
  
At this, Inuyasha walked over to Miroku, clapped him on the back, and whispered something that sounded suspiciously like "My guitar better be in fucking perfect condition or you are one dead asshole."  
  
"Your Les Paul is in perfect condition, don't worry. It's at Sango's" he said, gesturing to the woman who he had followed in.  
  
"Oh. Hi Sango, didn't notice you there"  
  
"Inuyasha ... I see you're as dense as ever."  
  
As all of this was occurring, it was Kagome's turn to blink.  
  
"You guys know each other?"  
  
Miroku spoke up first, his grin belaying his words. "Unfortunately."  
  
Inuyasha nodded, "Yea, Miroku's the bassist in my heavy metal band. Sango's the drummer. This one kid named Shippo plays secondary guitar... Speaking of the little brat, where is he?"  
  
"Right here!" called a voice hidden by three guitars, all of them rather large.  
  
Inuyasha walked over to Shippo, and picked up the guitar that was black and white concentric circles on it It's fretboard was ebony, and had a pearl black inlay, and golden hardware.  
  
"This," Inuyasha announced, "Is my pride and joy. Zakk Wylde Signature Gibson Les Paul."  
  
Shippo handed Miroku a black bass guitar, and then set his metallic red electric beside the couch.  
  
"I'll be right back with some practice amps and amp modelers"  
"What about me? I'm not carrying my drums in here! Why didn't we just go to your room?"  
  
"We don't care about drums, we don't need them, we just need guitars! 'Cause I WANNA ROCK!"  
  
"Inuyasha ... you're an idiot."  
  
Before Inuyasha could respond, Shippo was in the room and plugging in the amps and cables. Inuyasha grabbed his guitar, and his lead was quickly followed by Miroku and Shippo.  
  
[music]  
  
I WANNA ROCK! (ROCK)  
  
I WANNA ROCK! (ROCK)  
  
I WANT TO ROCK (ROCK)  
  
I WANNA ROCK! (ROCK)  
  
[/music]  
  
Inuyasha was singing the lead, with Miroku and Shippo coming in as his echo.  
  
[music]  
  
TURN IT DOWN YOU SAY,  
  
WELL ALL I GOT TO SAY TO YOU IS TIME AND TIME AGAIN I SAY, "NO!"  
  
NO! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!  
  
TELL ME NOT TO PLAY  
  
WELL, ALL I GOT TO SAY TO YOU WHEN YOU TELL ME NOT TO PLAY,  
  
I SAY, "NO!"  
  
NO! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!  
  
SO, IF YOU ASK ME WHY I LIKE THE WAY I PLAY IT  
  
THERE'S ONLY ONE THING I CAN SAY TO YOU  
  
I WANNA ROCK! (ROCK)  
  
I WANNA ROCK! (ROCK)  
  
I WANT TO ROCK (ROCK)  
  
I WANNA ROCK! (ROCK)  
  
THERE'S A FEELIN' THAT  
  
I GET FROM NOTHIN' ELSE AND THERE AIN'T NOTHIN' IN THE WORLD  
  
THAT MAKES ME GO!  
  
GO! GO, GO, GO, GO, GO!  
  
TURN THE POWER UP  
  
I'VE WAITED FOR SO LONG SO I COULD HEAR MY FAVORITE SONG SO,  
  
LET'S GO!  
  
GO! GO, GO, GO, GO, GO!  
  
WHEN IT'S LIKE THIS I FEEL THE MUSIC SHOOTIN' THROUGH ME  
  
THERE'S NOTHIN' ELSE THAT I WOULD RATHER DO  
  
I WANNA ROCK! (ROCK)  
  
I WANNA ROCK! (ROCK)  
  
I WANT TO ROCK (ROCK)  
  
I WANNA ROCK! (ROCK)  
  
I WANNA ROCK (ROCK)  
  
ROCK (ROCK)  
  
ROCK (ROCK)  
  
I WANNA ROCK (ROCK)  
  
ROCK (ROCK)  
  
ROCK (ROCK)  
  
I WANT TO ROCK (ROCK)  
  
ROCK (ROCK)  
  
ROCK (ROCK)  
  
I WANNA ROCK (ROCK)  
  
ROCK (ROCK)  
  
ROCK (ROCK)  
  
I WANNA ROCK  
  
[/music]  
  
Inuyasha held his guitar up in front of him, his fingers flying over the fret board, using a pick that had earlier materialized out of nowhere.  
  
[music]  
  
I WANNA ROCK! (ROCK)  
  
I WANNA ROCK! (ROCK)  
  
I WANT TO ROCK (ROCK)  
  
I WANNA ROCK! (ROCK)  
  
I WANNA ROCK (ROCK)  
  
ROCK (ROCK)  
  
ROCK (ROCK)  
  
I WANNA ROCK (ROCK)  
  
ROCK (ROCK)  
  
ROCK (ROCK)  
  
I WANT TO ROCK (ROCK)  
  
ROCK (ROCK)  
  
ROCK (ROCK)  
  
I WANNA ROCK (ROCK)  
  
ROCK (ROCK)  
  
ROCK (ROCK)  
  
I WANNA ROCK  
  
[/music]  
  
"I WANNA ROCK!" Inuyasha yelled out, oblivious to the looks everyone gave him as he continued to sing past the song's ending, taking several seconds to realize they were staring at him. "What?"  
  
Sango sighed, and gave him a simple retort. "I stand by my earlier comment. Inuyasha, you're an idiot." Soon after her comment, she felt a certain someone's hand on her back and heading down. "Miroku, you're dead."  
  
As Sango proceeded to beat Miroku senseless, Shippo gave an apologetic sigh and proceeded to usher them out of the room. "We'll be back later... sometimes it seems I'm more of an adult than these two...."  
  
Kagome sat silently, her face scrunched up in concentration. "So, you know Miroku and Sango?"  
  
Inuyasha nodded. "Yea, I've known them for a long time, Shippo too. Miroku got stuck in the air force during the war, though... I was a foot soldier. We've played in the same band for years, though we never actually performed anywhere."  
  
"Oh. Well, that's nice." She trailed her hands across the strings on his guitar before continuing, "You play the guitar well."  
  
Inuyasha smirked. "Yea, I know."  
  
[/chapter] And so ends the first chapter of The Aftermath. Let me know what you think!  
  
Here's my random tidbit of the chapter:  
  
Elementary level Kanji is roughly 1000 symbols. Most published works use a set of around 2000. The average Japanese adult knows from 3000 to 4000.  
  
Japanese is a hard language to learn.  
  
There are some good things around for learning it, though. I suggest Slime Forest, a fun game that works really well for teaching. http:// www. lrnj .com, just remove the spaces.  
  
-_Credits_-  
  
Iron Maiden - The Aftermath (This song will be popping up a lot. It's where the inspiration [and name] for this fic came from)  
  
Black Label Society - Genocide Junkies (Zakk Wylde's band, Inuyasha's guitar is his custom model. I own the Epiphone version, but Inuyasha apparently has $3000 more than I do, and got the Gibson model. Wylde is also more widely known as Ozzy's guitarist)  
  
Twisted Sister - I Wanna Rock (What else can I say besides I WANNA ROCK!) 


	2. The Surfacing Of The Beast

In the remains of a war-torn world, can four individuals find peace?  
  
A/N:Hey, I'm back, even though I haven't received any reviews. Did you hear me? No reviews at all! That makes me very sad :(. When I get reviews, I write. When I don't, I don't have the motivation to.  
  
Anyway, a bit of a warning. This violence in this chapter is graphic. You've been warned.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the songs contained within. Songs are listed w/ copyrights and the like at the end of the fic.  
  
_____The Aftermath_____  
  
[music] AC/DC - Highway to Hell  
  
Living easy, loving free  
  
Season ticket on a one-way ride  
  
Asking nothing, leave me be  
  
Taking everything in my stride  
  
Don't need reason, don't need rhyme  
  
Ain't nothing I would rather do  
  
Going down, party time  
  
My friends are gonna be there too  
  
[/music]  
  
Inuyasha was in the stereotypical smoky bar, playing a stereotypical game of pool. 'This is like some stupid movie... ah well, it doesn't matter'. He took a sip of his scotch, which had cost him a fortune. Things seemed to cost so much more, now that most of the world was living in ruins.  
  
[music]  
  
I'm on the highway to hell  
  
[/music]  
  
Inuyasha had soon realized that most of the world was in a similar state of being as his city. America had it worst, their major cities had all been nuked, and biological weapons were spreading though as well.  
  
[music]  
  
No stop signs, speed limit  
  
Nobody's gonna slow me down  
  
Like a wheel, gonna spin it  
  
Nobody's gonna mess me round  
  
Hey Satan, payed my dues  
  
Playing in a rocking band  
  
Hey Momma, look at me  
  
I'm on my way to the promised land  
  
[/music]  
  
He finished his pool game, downed the rest of his drink, and put on his jacket. It was the stereotypical black leather trench coat you see in movies, and he got on his stereotypical black Harley.  
  
[music]  
  
I'm on the highway to hell  
  
(Don't stop me)  
  
And I'm going down, all the way down  
  
I'm on the highway to hell  
  
[/music]  
  
He was trying to impress the owner of the bar, on words of advice from Kagome. His mind drifted back to that night, several days before.  
  
~Flashback~  
  
They were sitting in Kagome's living room, with the exception of Shippo. He was off doing something somewhere... Inuyasha didn't really care, so had forgotten where he had went.  
  
"The city can't survive like this, guys. Kouga is doing a decent job of protecting everyone, but he's not paying any attention at all to the needs of the people beyond safety. Kagome can also attest that he's not doing very good at that, either. I also know that Kouga didn't have this big of a gang before, so where did all of his men come from?"  
  
Kagome had the answer to that question. "A lot of smaller gangs joined his. It was like an avalanche. Once a few started, even more did. A lot joined completely, but some stayed independent, just working with him to the same goal."  
  
Miroku furrowed his brow, thinking. 'There has to be a way to get into power in this city... and it sounds like joining with Kouga is the best...'  
  
"Inuyasha, it seems that working with Kouga's gang would be the quickest way to power. We don't have enough people to take him on, and even if we did, while we were taking over, the infrastructure of the current security force would collapse, and we would have to completely rebuild it, and the people would be unsafe during the transition."  
  
He seemed to consider this, and then continued with Miroku's train of thought. "Kagome, how would we come about being a gang, and getting noticed by Kouga? We could sign on as one of the independent groups. It would allow us to stay aloof, and not get sucked in, but by doing well, he would gain more trust in us."  
  
She hesitated before speaking. "Well, you would start out as a crew, first, really. There's not enough of us at current to really be a gang." She let out a short giggle, after realizing what she was saying. 'Heh... Never through I would be talking about becoming a gang member...'. Inuyasha looked at her strangle before she continued, "But the first step would be having a hang-out. A place to meet, and brood, and luck sulky, to get the stereotypical image across. This building has a basement bar, but no one ever opened it. If you could get a bartender, and some people to work it, I have contacts that could supply the alcohol."  
  
They sat, and thought over the idea for several minutes, until Sango voiced her idea, her first time speaking the entire meeting. "We would need a name... how about the Illuminati?"  
  
Miroku nodded sagely, but Inuyasha gave out a snort. "What the hell does Illuminati mean?!"  
  
Sango sighed, then began to explain, "Inuyasha, you're an IDIOT. The Illuminati are really a conspiracy theory, that a group of people rule the world, and pull all of the strings to make things happen. We would be a group of people, working to control Kouga to make things that we would want to happen, happen."  
  
Inuyasha snorted again. "I knew that."  
  
~Present Time~  
  
Inuyasha snorted. He obviously hadn't known it, and everyone there knew it. 'I wonder why I always have to be like that? Ah well, I don't give a fuck.'  
  
[music]  
  
Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast  
  
I lived alone  
  
My mind was blank  
  
I needed time to get the memories from my mind  
  
What did I see  
  
Can I believe  
  
That what I saw that night was real and not just fantasy  
  
Just what I saw  
  
In my own dreams  
  
Were they reflections of my warped mind staring back at me  
  
[/music]  
  
He kicked up the stand that held the bike in place, and twisted the handle. He sped down the streets, going around what little traffic there was. The streets, for the most part, were deserted. It was 4'am in the morning, and the majority of sane people were asleep.  
  
[music]  
  
Cause in my dreams  
  
It's always there  
  
The evil face that twists my mind and brings me to despair  
  
The night was black  
  
Was no use holding back  
  
Cause I just had to see  
  
Was someone watching me  
  
In the mist  
  
Dark figures move and twist  
  
Was all this for real or some kind of hell  
  
666  
  
The Number of the Beast  
  
Hell and fire was spawned to be released  
  
[/music]  
  
His eyes tracked to the right... Something was glowing orange in the distance. He sped down the street, turning in that direction. As he got closer, he realized it was a fire, in the middle of one of the old parks.  
  
[music]  
  
Torches blazed  
  
And sacred chants were praised  
  
As they start to cry  
  
Hands held to the sky  
  
In the night  
  
The fires burning bright  
  
The ritual has begun  
  
Satan's work is done  
  
666  
  
The Number of the Beast  
  
Sacrifice is going on tonight  
  
[/music]  
  
The park was just as badly destroyed as the rest of the city, and whoever was running this event was taking use of the craters.  
  
The sight was sickening. People were nailed up onto mock crosses, crucified for their deeds, whatever they were. They were on fire, great bonfires beneath them. Others were just being tossed into the inferno, being saved the pain of the crucifixion.  
  
He left his bike in an alley, and began to wretch in the corner. After reliving his dinner, he walked into the crowd of onlookers.  
  
'I don't know what's more sickening... the fact that this is happening, or the fact that people are watching," he let out a gasp as the sounds the crowd was making registered with him, '... and cheering...'  
  
His hand slid down to his gun, and he pushed his way to the front of the crowd.  
  
[music] This can't go on  
  
I must inform the law  
  
Can this be real  
  
Or some crazy dream  
  
but I feel drawn  
  
towards the chanting hordes  
  
they seem to mesmerize  
  
Can't avoid their eyes  
  
666  
  
The Number of the Beast  
  
666  
  
The one for you and me  
  
[/music]  
  
"What the FUCK is going on here?" No one seemed to notice, so he pulled out his pistol, and fired it up into the air. "I said, WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!"  
  
The crowd fell silent, except for several screams, and in his peripheral vision, he saw some people run off. 'Cowards...'  
  
One of the men finished throwing a person into the fire, and then walked over to Inuyasha.  
  
"We're burning people alive, idiot. What does it look like?"  
  
"Yea, I got the burning alive part, but why is it happening? What did they do?"  
  
"They spoke out against us. We're the Wolfpack, and you mess with us, you burn. You want to join them?"  
  
Rage burned through Inuyasha's veins, and his eyes began to glow red. "Fuckers gotta pay, right?"  
  
The man in front of him edged back when he saw the red eyes, but nodded.  
  
"Right. You won't mind when I do this, then, will you?"  
  
Inuyasha put his gun to the mans forehead, and pulled the trigger. The man hadn't had time to react, but the others did.  
  
[music]  
  
I'm coming back  
  
I will return  
  
And I'll possess your body  
  
And I'll make you burn  
  
I have the fire  
  
I have the force  
  
I have the power to make my evil take its course  
  
[/music]  
  
One of the gang members behind the man was sprayed in blood, and bits of brain... though most of the brain had exploded into liquid anyway.  
  
The top of the mans head had exploded into a pink cloud, with pieces of bone shattering. The majority of his face above his mouth was completely gone.  
  
Inuyasha took a step forward, and planted his foot on what remained of the mans face.  
  
"Anyone else feel like burning people alive?"  
  
Most ran. Some tried to fight. They soon were in similar conditions as the first.  
  
~_~  
  
From her position on the other side of the street, Kagome could barely see Inuyasha, but she had seen what he had done, and what had been happening.  
  
She supposed she should feel disgusted, or happy that he had set things right, or at least something... But all she felt was emptiness.  
  
Inuyasha released those what would have been thrown in soon, and ended the pain for those who had no hope of surviving after their torture placed on them.  
  
After that, all he did was collapse into a sitting position, and place his head in his hands.  
  
The crowd was long since gone, and Kagome hesitantly walked over to him, and was surprised to see that he was crying.  
  
[music]  
  
Iron Maiden - Como Estais Amigos  
  
Como esta amigo  
  
For the death of those we don't know  
  
Shall we kneel and say a prayer  
  
They will never know we care  
  
Shall we keep the fires burning  
  
Shall we keep the flames alight  
  
Shall we try to remember  
  
What is wrong and what is right  
  
No more tears, no more tears  
  
If we live for a hundred years  
  
Amigos no more tears  
  
[/music]  
  
She tentatively placed an arm over his shoulders, and he froze. He looked at her, straightened up, and tried to regain his composure. After a second of trying, all he could do was slump back into his previous posture.  
  
[music]  
  
If we do forget them and  
  
The sacrafice they made  
  
Will the wickedness and  
  
Sadness come to visit us again  
  
Shall we dance the dance in sunlight  
  
Shall we drink the wine of peace  
  
Shall our tears be of joy  
  
Shall we keep at bay the beast  
  
[/music]  
  
"What did I do? I could have solved that without killing them... But all I could do was feel the need to see them lying in a pool of blood... Why did I do that? God damnit, what the fuck happened to me?!"  
  
She stared at him for a second before answering. "I don't know Inuyasha... I don't know. I haven't known you for more than a few weeks... but that wasn't like you... I don't know what happened."  
  
"Are you disgusted of me?"  
  
"What?! Why would I be disgusted of you?"  
  
"Who wouldn't be? I just mercilessly killed people, I blew their brains out, and I could have solved it without killing them. They were SCUM, and they deserved it... But I didn't feel anything but joy and lust as I did it... I don't even really remember what happened... just the feeling."  
  
She suppressed a shudder, and was instantly disgusted of herself. 'I just told him that I wasn't disgusted of him, and I almost shutter. NO. He needs help, and obviously didn't consciously want to do this. It wasn't his fault.'  
  
"C'mon Inuyasha... let's go home. I was on my way to go get you, but I saw the fires, so I came here... I don't feel like walking all the way back, so I need you to give me a ride."  
  
He nodded, mind slightly off of what he had done, absorbed in the task she had given him. In the back of his mind, he knew she was doing it to get him to do something besides sit there and brood, and was thankful for it.  
  
~Time Break~  
  
When they arrived back at her apartment, Inuyasha became silent again, and went over to the couch, sat in it, and then sagged.  
  
"...Kagome... I have to ask you something very serious... Were my eyes red when I... did... that?"  
  
She thought for a second, then remembered that they were glowing red... at the time, she had thought it was a reflection from the fires.  
  
"...Yes... I think they were..."  
  
He nodded. "I think I'm going to get some sleep.  
  
[music]  
  
Sonata Arctica - Black Sheep  
  
In love with the maiden  
  
The flower of winter  
  
Lowbrow children  
  
in grove of the inland  
  
How many times heart's gone thru the grinder  
  
wherever you look there's a painful reminder  
  
Singing a love song  
  
words of a stranger  
  
The howling miller  
  
never to face her  
  
Temple of the evil  
  
Temple of the weak  
  
no one knows how bad he feels  
  
Late-night innuendo  
  
tempetation of the key  
  
"Live with the Blacksheep, live with me"  
  
Insanity  
  
blessing for those born to hate you  
  
Burned by the embers of love  
  
It is so cruel  
  
Howling the night  
  
For sun of the midnight  
  
Serving the people  
  
Condemned you in the eternal night  
  
Of the lost song  
  
words of the stranger  
  
The howling miller  
  
Never to face her  
  
Temple of the evil  
  
Temple of the weak  
  
No one knows how bad he feels  
  
Late-night innuendo  
  
Tempetation of the key  
  
"Live with the Blacksheep, live with me"  
  
[/music]  
  
As Kagome awoke the next morning, she went into the living room to find Inuyasha's things not in their usual place. A cold feeling entered her gut, and she quickly looked over the apartment to find his things, and him, gone.  
  
She ran out her door, and as she closed it, she noticed a note on it.  
  
~~ Dear Kagome,  
  
I'm sorry that I have to leave, but it's for your protection, along with the others. I thought I had it beaten, but apparently not.  
  
As you know, I'm a half-demon... but when I reach a certain point of anger or dismay, I lose my conscious will, and fall prey to the darkest of demon desires.  
  
If I stay, I'll be endangering you, Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and everyone around me.  
  
Wench, don't come looking after me. I'll be fine. Keep the others safe, even that pervert.  
  
Inuyasha ~~  
  
She read the note several times, then leaned against the door. She red it once again, and then slid down it. She wrapped her arms around her legs, and rested her head on her knees.  
  
'Inuyasha...'  
  
[/chapter]  
  
A cliffhanger.... whoops. Oh well, you guys shouldn't have to wait too long. I've started on CH3, so it shouldn't be that far off. I f I actually get reviews this time, it'll come even faster.  
  
Random tidbit: Tom Clancy is a good author. Go check his stuff out.  
  
-_Credits_-  
  
AC/DC - Highway to Hell (Epitome of Rock n' Roll.)  
  
Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast (I thought it fit well with Inuyasha going full demon)  
  
Iron Maiden - Como Estais Amigos (One during Blaze's time in IM, but still good)  
  
Sonata Arctica - Black Sheep (A good song, though a bit hard to understand) 


End file.
